Father Knows Breakfast: Cheerios Celebrates Competent Dads In New Campaign

The brand sees its new peanut butter cereal as the right mix of fun and responsibility to reflect modern fatherhood.

Traditionally, the realm of all household-related advertising was ruled by women. Laundry, groceries, cleaning products, and devices. If you saw a man in any of these ads it would probably be somewhere near the end, walking in from a busy day at work and nodding approvingly. Or just acting confused by how all this magic happened. But over the last few years, it's become increasingly clear to marketers—sometimes painfully—that men with kids don't want to be portrayed as absent, idiots or Mr. Moms.

This new Cheerios spot by Tribal Worldwide Toronto touts new Peanut Butter Cheerios as the official cereal of dads, because it's the right mix of fun and responsible. This version of fatherhood the cereal is selling, in this spot and via the hashtag #HowToDad, doesn't involve total confusion or a complete lack of parenting skills. Instead, a dad is someone who gets his hands dirty, tells hilarious jokes, and is able to handle both work-work and homework.

The vibe is somewhere between Dove's warm & fuzzies and Toyota's Swagger Wagon. While it's a bit strange to see Mom just milling about in the background like a third wheel, it's a fun spot and a rare example of family food advertising explicitly targeting men that doesn't involve a grill.